Overtime as a Management Tool

Matching workforce to workload has been a long-term struggle for the U.S. Postal Service. In its banner years, when volume was increasing, the Postal Service often found it difficult to quickly reduce workhours to offset seasonal dips in mail volume. Over the past 6 years, as volumes have steadily declined, the Postal Service has done a better job of matching its work hours to its workload. It has its lowest number of career employees in 25 years and productivity has seen steady cumulative improvement.

Yet finding that perfect match remains elusive. In recent years, the difficulties are evident in an increased use of overtime hours. In a recent audit report, our auditors found three districts with their highest overtime rates during the past five years, and one district where employees received the highest overtime dollars. In this latter district, the Postal Service paid seven mail handlers between $65,000 and $76,000 each for overtime workhours in FY 2012, resulting in their salaries more than doubling. Overall, overtime hours accounted for more than 7 percent of total workhours in both fiscal years (FY) 2011 and 2012. The rate is well above the Postal Service’s target rate of 5 percent. The Postal Service’s paid overtime costs have been steadily increasing the past 4 years. They totaled $3.5 billion in FY 2012 compared to $2.5 billion in FY 2009.

The Postal Service uses overtime hours to provide flexibility and meet operational requirements without having to increase overall staffing levels. This has been a useful tool over the past few years, as the Postal Service has consolidated and closed facilities, and seen the departure of thousands of employees. Overtime usage has allowed the Postal Service to quickly adjust its workforce as it transitions to a leaner network and makes the necessary organizational changes.

Still, the OIG found opportunities for tighter controls on overtime usage. The OIG review of the four districts determined that the Postal Service could reduce overtime usage by establishing a plan to address staffing vacancies, better aligning workforce to workload, and implementing plans that align mail arrival times with carrier schedules so carriers aren’t waiting on mail to arrive at delivery units, then spending overtime hours delivering the mail.

Please share your thoughts on the Postal Service’s use of overtime. Is it the best tool for managing workhours during consolidations, closures, and realignments? If not, are there better tools and approaches? What steps do you think the Postal Service could take to minimize use of overtime pay?

Comments (62)

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I am a rural carrier and am working over my evaluation every day. We have received a huge increase in parcels over the last year with no extra pay or help. I am currently working 50 plus hours a week. I am using my own vehicle and making at least two, sometimes three trips a day to deliver the parcels. I do not understand why this increase in Parcels has not been addressed. The postal service cannot expect to hold on to employees without making some changes. Bringing in RCA's to deliver excess parcels seems like a logical solution to the problem. I have brought this to my postmaster's attention numerous times and am met with nothing but resistance. UPS hires holiday help along with FedEx. Why wouldn't the postal service? We do not want to work overtime. We are already working over time for free. We have families at home and lives outside of work. It's a shame that I have to consider leaving my job in order to start a family. We need more staffing so employees can have a work/life balance. That is how it should be!

"CCA" city carrier assistance. Not there for the carrier. They are there for management. Basically to be there "slaves". At the Roseville post office we are basically slaves. As regular carriers we are given a choice. 8 hrs, own assignment or ODL. I am a carrier who chooses 8 hrs only. This almost never happens. We are forced to carrying own overtime, carry swings on overtime basically do whatever we are told to do. CCAs (if they survive) are working insane amounts of hours. Most quit because of it.
The postal service has NO respect for its employees and their families. As we get older, time goes quick, and it is something we cannot get back no matter how much we are paid.
The expectations and the attitudes of post master and supervisors makes employees overwhelmed, unhappy exhausted, no one to turn to and not wanting to come to work.
The Roseville post office in California has to be reoccurring on your list. So how long do the employees have to suffer before someone steps in to help.
When was the last time you worked a seventeen hour shift delivering mail? Not sitting at a desk, but walking and moving. Not to menction being in the dark.
You might as well throw safety out the window.
Please for the sake of the Roseville employees. Take a look at what's going on. We are humans. Not robots. This has been going on far to long. Slavery was outlawed.
You give employees choices. Honor them. We don't get our time back. Our kids get older and we miss out. Family events we cannot attend. It's wrong. Please help. I don't think I am alone. Check payroll records. They should speak for themselves.

I understand that this is an old article; however, The issue of two high of mail volume and two little employees is still an issue in 2016. The only differences now we are utilizing a brand-new workforce of postal service employees whom do not receive overtime payment until their 40 hour plus one unit. The problem here is that the overtime desired list is being overlooked because management does not want to pay the penalty pay to career employees. Now, we have all heard the rumors about management not getting bonuses etc. if they use up the money allotted for the overtime desired list, that couldn't be the issue, 'care able bodied and willing to work yet the Postal Support Employees are being utilized six days a week 12 hours a day even when there is a dip in mail volume management has always been able to find a place to keep them busy, yet there is rarely a dispatch so behind that they call penalty.
(I have seen it so busy that every supervisor on deck was running mail in automation. * Side note there is never a time where it is OK for supervision to be crossing crafts so openly and with such impunity or lack of feigning respect for the unions that comprise the workforce of the United States Postal Service. " needs of service" yes, but please go about it correctly. That is why we have so many manuals guides and teachers as well as union representatives to make sure that everything falls in line.
I understand the need to cut costs however I don't see the justification and keeping six or seven postal support employees versus keeping The overtime desired list if the career employees are going to grieve the matter anyway.
I can only speak for myself when I say I am able bodied and I'm willing to work my 12 hours for my pay. I love what I do and I love being of service to my community. If there is a need no matter how great or small I am willing to fit in wherever I can.
As far as the mailhandlers are concerned, there are a few that have bad more annually in overtime then they have with their annual salary. They work to the point of exhaustion and unfortunatly have to call out in order to recover from a 60 hour work week. It is not uncommon that seven or eight call in on the same day. The mailhandlers on the workroom floor that did make it to work are rather busy documenting cross craft done by the clerks in order to dispatch mail in a timely fashion, as you all may know: dispatch waits for no man. Something needs to give way. Perhaps it's time for the Postal Service to hire more employees to meet the needs of their current employees health and safety requirements. I believe that it is less expensive to employ a few extra bodies then it is to pay over $50,000 annually in overtime pay.
I hope that we all bare in mind that this we are a part of a SERVICE. , and that her number one priority is to take care of our customers. We are there lifeline, we deliver their medicines GIFs food and whatever else they me need at any corner of the United States. I never want to lose sight of that. I want to be proud of the place that I'm employed, I want to give my all every day that I come in, and I want to know that we have made a positive difference in someone's life if even in the smallest way.
With respect and in solidarity :
MJ Tuscany

Management in Versailles, KY won't blink an eye to pay two ptf clerks penalty OT to ride TOGETHER in a van to deliver parcels. That's right, each clerk in penalty makes about $58/hour, so management will pay $116/hour for these two clerks to deliver parcels out of ONE VAN. Management in our office only cares about the hours of the city carriers. They do this every fall and sometimes throughout the year. When they get busted doing it by the nalc, management ends up paying the city carriers penalty OT as a settlement. So, delivering these parcels ends up costing the PO around $139/hour! It's happened time and time again.

Supervisors in all business areas have used overtime hours to justify the need for increased staff or as a misaligned indicator of their own productivity. Whatever the motivation, the mandatory call for overtime, for Everyone, is an abuse of the policy much less the physical hazard to employees. It is a sweatshop environment. Decline because of exhaustion - receive a warning. Take an educated, motivated person who brings what the USPS needs to thrive and kill them with excessive hours because of POORLY trained supervisors. $3.5 billion in 2012? What is the turnover rate and rise in OT amount.

I am a CCA in Bangor, ME. I have been working for the past 1.5 years and have held down over half of the routes in my office. However, the casing of the mail usually goes to several of the highest paid carriers instead of the lowest paid CCAs. Here there is a good old boys system that allows the 204b to put their pals in those cushy positions without thinking about what is best financially for the company. The savings from using a CCA at $24 OT p/h over and top step regular at $42 OT p/h is $18 p/h saved for the same work performed. The USPS should look a little closer at who the supervisors are using the perform the workload to help save on operational costs.

I am a CCA in Bangor, ME. I have been working for the past 1.5 years and have held down over half of the routes in my office. However, the casing of the mail usually goes to several of the highest paid carriers instead of the lowest paid CCAs. Here there is a good old boys system that allows the 204b to put their pals in those cushy positions without thinking about what is best financially for the company. The savings from using a CCA at $24 OT p/h over and top step regular at $42 OT p/h is $18 p/h saved for the same work performed. The USPS should look a little closer at who the supervisors are using the perform the workload to help save on operational costs.

I know you're the Government and you are suppose to be smarter than me, but you are running things so wrong. Why not have 3 tours for mail sorters or whatever you call them? one tour from 0630 till 1500, 1400 till 2230, then 2200 till 0700, this gives you shift overlaps and you will not be paying overtime rate, just regular pay. Rotate the weekends to every other, especially staff for Sundays, from what I hear there's only 2 hours of work on the evening tour. Treat your employees right and they'll treat your job right and be productive workers

Why is there mandatory 4 hours overtime every night for 6 days a week, there is not enough work for that. Pony Express was many, many years ago, but yet you treat the employees as though they were the horses they rode. Sure the money is good, but everybody doesn't want to make that money, it should be the workers choice and not yours. You are working people to the bone almost, especially their feet, who can stand on their feet for 12 hours 6 days a week without problems? Is this just in Birmingham AL or everywhere? I can't believe you guys are just wasting money in overtime pay and hours and breaking down your employees health

I have been at the post office for 17 years, 8 years as an RCA, and 9 years as a full time rural carrier. Due to what you guys are doing nobody wants to work for the USPS. We are under staffed and we have been working our day off since October. We have 1 RCA for 5 routes. The RCA's we did have quit because they were tired of splitting routes many times 2 RCA's take a full K route then come back and do half of another full K route. Regulars are exhausted and often get sick due to being over worked. When we call in sick we are represented I understand saving money, there has to be a better way than abusing the employers, you are killing us,we are overworked without compensation for it. I earn a day off for coming in but when I try to take that day off am told there's no coverage. Something needs to change in our office. Talking to management does nothing, Voice of the employees have gone unheard. If this trend continues it will lead to more problems. Our employees are very disgruntled those who the postmaster does not play favorites with. Whoever is out there reading this I'm begging you please bring help to the Wailukubpost office in Maui Hawaii!!!!

You are not the only office out there with the same complaint !!!
I feel with you as a rural carrier for 16 years I cannot wait to early retire in 2-years 1 month and 30 days yes I am now counting the days
It works take all day for me you write in all my complaints against the USPS the supervisors and their policies
How Unfortunate for us
I used to love coming to work now I get all stressed out as I drive there daily sometimes crying because I don't want to be there but unfortunately my bills won't pay themselves.
I am physically and mentally a mess when I am at work. Our rcas are also stressed sometimes working until 9pm UNFAIR!!!
Our complaints go unanswered we are repeatedly told they do not have time to talk with us it is all about scan scan scan no longer about the employee but all about money I could go on but it isn't going to change anything so I count the days left
I wish you all the best

When I was a CCA for 1.5 years, until I got the hang of it, i usually worked 5 days a week. then I started working 6 days a week around the time the manager went to another station. under the new manager everything went downhill. I worked 6 days a week 10-12 hours a day. then suddenly we were forced to work 13 days straight without a day off, when I became an unassigned regular I showed more backbone than I ever had as a CCA, I refused to work days off, and my supervisor tried to just cause me a few times, I never backed down. I got hurt 2 months after I became regular after a nasty dog bite, and just went back to full duty a month ago. now I'm working 12-14 hours a day 5 days a week. they don't tell me to come in on my SDO, because they know I'll refuse. the CCA's work 7 days a week because they are short on staff, and only have 2 CCAs at my office. the supervisors lie about the mail being delivered and often tell us to put police activity on a 1571 form for the mail we bring back, so we never get help from other stations, and we can't keep CCAs. they fired a CCA for putting marriage mail in the recycling cart, even though everybody does the same thing. USPS is living in the dark ages.

Some of your stations are understaffed. They even close the post office for an hour during business hours, say 3-4 or 3:30-4:30 (not during lunch) because they have to back room business with nobody to cover the counter.

I've been a letter carrier for 28 years. I have not been on the ODL since some time in the 1990s. In the past 20 years I have worked thousands upon thousands of hours of overtime and have been asked and forced to work hundreds of days off. The excuses are as numerous as grains of sand on a beach. But the underlying reason is always the same. The Postal service has proven itself absolutely, positively, 150%, completely and totally incapable of maintaining proper staffing in my office. If I seem JUST a little cranky it's because I just arrived home. Today was my day off and I just worked 9 hours...again. I work in a very high mail volume office. Carriers get injured often, or quit, or transfer out as soon as they get the chance. My regular relief carrier has been out on disability for years. I don't even remember what he looks like! Because of this, there is often no one to take my place on my day off. Assign a CCA? We've hired about 10 since the beginning of the year... we have 2 left. And as of the 19th another of our Carriers will transfer to another office. We just can't keep people. And there is a long wait between when someone leaves and when the replacement person is hired. This leaves us short handed for 6-7-8 months per year- every year since the 1990s yet no one can figure out why there is too much overtime?
The Postal Service needs to be more proactive with it's staffing. If someone is retiring or transfering, hire their replacement before they leave, not 6 months after. If 40% of the CCA's are not passing probation, Hire 40% more than you think you need. If an office is showing too much overtime for 10 years straight, maybe the cookie cutter staffing policy won't work in that office and they may need a few more people.
The Unions for their part should better enforce the overtime rules. If each day that I have been forced to work is an "Emergency Situation" then my office has had hundreds of them in the past 20 years. Yet never on any of those days has any of my coworkers who are on the ODL worked the 12 hours the contract calls for. If the Postal Service can violate the National Agreement by declaring numerous and long lasting Emergency Situations then why have a Union and a Contract at all?

In an office of 13 clerks serving a major university town with 3 window stations, we were using approx 60 hrs of overtime a week - done primarily by clerks on the OTDL. Upper management has decided to excess 2 more clerks and force everyone to work an extra 2 hours nearly every day and their days off. Window lines are already excessive.

I have a question...
As a rural Sub, in previous years after Thanksgiving until Christmas we were paid for actual amount of hours which was always more than the evaluated route time. However in 2013 we were only paid for the evaluated time of the route say for example the route was evaluated at 8.0 hrs that's all you were paid even though it might take 10 to 11 hours on some days.
Was there a change this year or are we being shafted?

A well thought out production assessment needs to be completed. If management is experienced mail carriers and understand the process completely, it should not be difficult to recognize what the existing problems are and how to fix it.
First, hire enough regular employees and treat CCA with appreciation and respect. The turn over is huge and the amount spent on training a new employee is unnecessary and irresponsible.
Second, schedule employees appropriately. If a route takes 6.5 hours, make sure that employee has enough time for breaks and travel time. Instead of pre-scheduling overtime, observe what CCAs or regulars have less mail to deliver and give them the excess workload.
Third, instead of waiting around for mail to be delivered to the station, carriers should be allowed to start their route on time. The mail that comes in later, should be available for next day casing and delivery.
The problem lies with the system and management styles. Carriers work hard every day and should be appreciated for their contribution to the U.S. Post Office. They should not be penalized for a system malfunction. Fix the underlying problems with the system and you will see an improvement. Find the root of the problem and work on a solution.

i m working in the post office as CCA and we work 7 days a week and 12 hours every day even that still regular make more money then CCA's and second thing when we deliver the amazon on sunday they send us other town to pickup the parcels come back in your town deliver the parcels and then go back and thats what we do mostly three time in a day and if we lucky then twice
even on sunday amazon we work more then 8 hours
i dont know how long i can keep this job because its getting worst

I transferred out about 4 years ago after finishing law school. I'm currently employed as an investigator with another agency. When I was in the Postal Service, I served briefly as a steward for the APWU in an P&DC. Management had decided to undertake a new program whereby we would increase production, which is a worthwhile goal.
During our labor-management meeting on the subject, I posited a question: "What happens when a machine breaks down? I am fully aware that the DBCS is capable of processing 40,000 pieces of mail per hour. But simply saying it can be done doesn't mean that it will be. Particularly when you take into account that some of the machines were deployed in 1990." I got a "they don't break down that much" response and my question was basically pushed aside. And this was from a manager who, up until he himself transferred to a larger facility, was regarded well by labor and management alike.
My suggestion? Maybe, since the OIG's mission is to prevent "fraud, waste, and abuse", some of you could talk directly to the people on the floor and ask them what they think would be a way to improve productivity.

The city of Newport News Virginia is grossly under staffed in the carrier craft.....the postmaster won't hire the needed percentage to bring the overtime and penalty down....it's ridiculous watching it and being forced to work longer hours.......Hire the necessary CCA's and save the postal service billions. .....

In Newport News Virginia we have way too many vacant carrier positions.....T6 slots mostly. ...so the current postmaster hasn't hired enough CCA's to fill these positions. So the regular carriers are being forced to work their off days and carry splits every day and some of those splits are as long as 3 extra hours added to a route already. ...so insane I say but management says there's no mail...sorry but my territory hadn't vanished each day.....just because I don't have mail for a house today doesn't mean that I don't still have to walk across the lawn to the next house. ....HIRE THE CCA'S LIKE YOUR SUPPOSE TOO!.... We have carriers casing 2 and 3 routes a day and forcing all carriers in the station to carry overtime to deliver the routes.....HIRE AND FULLY STAFF THESE STATIONS.......plain and simple! !!!!

In our office, they pay overtime to regulars instead of utilizing the CCA's......Regulars make more on straight time than the CCA's do on overtime, but the PO refuses to let them case their hold down routes. hey are intentionally wasting thousands of dollars

It is impossible to control overtime when management tries to control every second of every day of every worker. our job is not one that can stop and say "I will finish it tomorrow". We do not have any residual time left to take off any different situations that arise. For example if a carrier route is inspected and walked by management, it is always done when there is very little mail and packages to deliver.When the mail gets heavy management then has no choice but to authorize overtime or send somebody to help. Encourage good workers, don't punish them by making there routes longer. Also stop using carriers to cover for management on their days off. Shouldn't management cover each other?

The Turtle Creek Post Office in Dallas has to be one of the worst! They have sorting problems; some of the mail carriers are told to come in late and then don't leave the station until after 12 noon! Those unfortunate enough won't see their mail until 8 to 10 p.m. Sometimes there's no mail delivery at all. At others, we get bank statements and mail from others; our mail, even mail with delivery confirmation is dropped off at some other house and then lost; items that need to be signed for are left at a strange place. No one takes accountability. All the while everyone at this post office that stays beyond official hours gets paid time and a half including the mail carriers and the manager, assistant manager, etc.
No calls back. Lousy service, but those who work at the post office make out like bandits.
Privatize the postal service and fire the incompetents!

I have worked as a rural carrier since 1987 and thankfully will be hitting the door for the last time in less than 4 months. The issue with OT (or in the rural carrier's case, extra pay, as we are "salaried") is one that has many causes and could be easily addressed in most cases. For brevity's sake, I will address just two. First example is the idiotic practice of second trips all because a district manager wants to make his numbers look good. A piece or pieces come in after the carrier has left the office to deliver the route. But because these pieces might affect the EXFC score, managers require the carrier to go back out to deliver 1 or 2 letters that in almost all cases will sit in the mailbox until the next day. So if, for example, I have to drive 15 miles round-trip for 1 letter. I'll be paid somewhere around $30-$35 extra. There have even been sub carriers, not working a route, that travelled over 200 miles because a piece of priority mail was misdirected by the processing plant and again, it might make the manager's numbers look bad. In this example the sub made, wages and mileage, around $300. This happens a LOT! The second example is having carriers work their relief, or off, day. This happens due to a lack of relief carriers. Carriers can make 150% of their daily rate of pay for working their relief day if they chose, or make a half-day's pay with a paid day off. This could be alleviated simply by hiring more subs, but the powers that be have brain-washed lower level managers into believing the post office is going to 5 days and they refuse to hire new subs. The figures put out for one year (a few years ago) was something like $155 million for carriers working their off day.

As a city carrier I can say that mgt's "every piece, every day" policy has cost them millions in wages. It used to be that when my route was cased up I left. If a few pieces of mail, and I literally mean a few pieces of mail, were sorted after I had left then it went out the next day. There was no sense in waiting around for .1% of your total mail volume and delaying the rest of your mail deliveries. Almost every financial problem that the USPS has right now, except for pre-funding, is a self inflicted wound.

No one has said it better than rural carrier Mike S. The only thing you left out Mike was the money wasted on the "audit" teams traveling around checking to see if the rural carriers came back to get the 2-3 late letters, another big waste of money.

Here at the Cincinnati NDC we a SDO/A-MDO that works 40-50 hours of overtime a week. Yes you read it right, WEEK. My coworkers on tour 2 say that when they come she has the lights off in the tour office and that she is in there asleep. If the USPS really wants to save money then we need to start by stopping people like this from STEALING from the USPS.

Most likely no one fix for the OT problem. Mail volume fluctuations (thru back door and via front counter), poor managing/scheduling skills, staffing issues.
Mail volume issue: not a total fix but never understood why Post Office box mail must be boxed up by a set AM time. Speaking from a L18 office. Our staffing is 1.5 clerks. Six days a week we need two people staffed due partly due to this requirement. And yet later in the day, we staff with one clerk. The later part of the day is filled with front window work and back office items that could allow for a clerk to box mail. Free up the .5 clerk with covering lunch, off days, instead of eating hours up due to this arbitrary box up time. Change box up time to the time office closes. Period.
Management scheduling issue. Takes a unique person to schedule. Staffing shortages, volume fluctuations, labor requirements make it challenging, but often from my experience is that most management does not want to be bothered. They fight the issue to their own detriment.
Staffing issues? depending on the push down from district and/or higher up. There appears to be too much push to cut your nose off for spite.
Example: I'm in an office that does not keep a PM. Present PM on extended OIC assignment. But history has the office with 17 PM/OIC's in 15 years.
So the office takes its two PTF clerks and works the office with just the two clerks. Week after week BEGGED for assistance from other offices and through POOM. No other office would provide a clerk or PSE with exception of a few days. Just needed approximately 10-12 hours help. This office asked for help for several months during snowbird season (but it was acceptable for the OT) The customers were served, EDDM revenue was pushed, Rev up 14%.
Now? A new OIC comes in the office. PTF's are scheduled less hours understandably but now the office is paying for an EAS +5% to sit around office. We pay more out with extra salary and the work is not getting done. Why? new OIC won't schedule the PTF's to work (insist on cutting hours??) EDDM is drastically down, back office issues not being addressed.
Issues PM/OIC should be addressing not getting done (appears to kick the can down the road as they know they won't be in assignment long)
USPS got more bang for its buck with the two PTF clerks, even with the OT. I have to add, just in case it is assumed, that the two PTF clerks did not want the OT. They were just dedicated older employees that wanted to do a good job.
Not seeing it with the three person staffing presently.
The OT could have easily been removed by the hiring of a PSE temporarily during the snowbird season.

"Mail volume issue: not a total fix but never understood why Post Office box mail must be boxed up by a set AM time."
Our mgt got around this issue. They just don't get it up by the cutoff time and yet still mark it down as it was up in time. Then they send a clerk over to it later on when they feel like it.

I have found that overtime is the "best tool" when the Postal Service DOESN'T WANT TO HIRE ANY MORE CAREER EMPLOYEES..................... As the above article says, " It has its lowest number of career employees in 25 years ". But all of the route still have to be delivered. Route with carriers out sick, or on vacation STILL have to be delivered with that dwindling workforce. So all that extra work gets piled onto the back of the workers that are left. That's why "The Postal Service’s paid overtime costs have been steadily increasing the past 4 years."......................... Why is it such a mystery???
Even with the overtime, keeping carriers out way past dark in some cases, they are still SAVING MONEY rather than hiring a career employee to pick up the slack. And THAT is the most important of all...................

First of all, you need competent managers that can schedule hours properly. I saw total abuse of overtime in my office. A supervisor who didn't care, and a pm who didn't bother coming out of the office and probably wouldn't know any better if he had. Actually had a ptf throwing a rural route's flyers back in the corner cause she didn't want to get sent home and there was nothing to do. This clerk averaged 50-60 hrs every week. Again, management wasn't doing their job.
On the other hand, being forced to work overtime for three years because the office was short-handed got old real fast. I'm glad to be out of that dysfunctional place.

The USPS should fire the supervisor and the seven mail handlers should take some of the money back......Its not fair for everyone who works for this company and someone or somewhere is making more money that everyone else....The USPS is struggling why does this seven employee making this overtime pay so stupid management........HELLO>>>>>>

How does that make sense though?? I firmly believe that the supervisors/mgt who allowed them to work so much OT should be held accountable but how do you justify taking money away from workers for work that was actually done?? That's not fair or right. Make sure it doesn't happen again but don't steal from the workers who did the work. To make this amount of overtime these workers had to be working 12 hour days and 60 hour weeks and I wouldn't be surprised if they worked even more than that. That's a lot of time away from their families and time put into their work that they were properly compensated for.

The use of OT should be a tool used sparingly, however in my experience over 22 years, it is a weapon. The contract is VIOLATED on a daily basis at my office. They refuse to schedule OTDL carriers when there is a known deficit of carriers and expect NON-OTDL carriers to pick up the slack. The NALC should file a class action against the USPS demanding compensation for this MASSIVE violation. It seems the only thing that will make management honor the contract.
In the last year V-Time at my station is a DAILY occurrence. Carriers are being forced to call in sick to get a day off (what a shock-this cost the USPS unnecessary SL compensation). Get the CCA's hired and EXPECT a sick call in a station with 50 carriers! Staff properly and use OT as it is intended, to augment carriers who exceed their 8 hours due to volume or the unexpected deluge of sick calls.

Mgt has unfortunately tied themselves to their operational windows, which in most cases were simply implemented to give mgt an excuse to mandate non-ODL carriers, so tightly they're afraid to now schedule their cheaper workers (CCA's) to the maximum extent possible. They refuse to understand that not all overtime, or double time (penalty/V-time), is equal. In my office they used to bring in 4 OTDL carriers in at 6am every morning to case up vacant routes or sick call routes and make sure that this stuff was done before carriers left for the street. The work is still there but mgt won't bring in any carriers that early and then they mandate carriers to work overtime later in the day.
I have consistently made the argument that they should be bringing some of the CCA's in early to case as they make between $15.25-$16.25 an hour. They have actually sent OTDL carriers making $41 an hour OT to take away work from a CCA making just over $22 an hour OT. How does this make sense??

Wolfe 52 said it right.....the exact same things are going on in my station 23608 each and every day. .and being a carrier of 28 years I find it so sad watching management waste good money and sink this USPS to the ground. ....it's so simple to fix too...just staff all open vacancies with newly hired CCA's...let them come in and start a route and finish it the same way I do......

We have just been informed our post office in Pine Mountain Club Ca 93222 is being closed. We are a mountain community of 2,315 population. We have never had delivery and must go to our town PO. The...

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The U.S. Postal Service delivers almost 154.2 billion pieces of mail annually using one of the largest vehicle fleets in the country, with over 214,900 postal-owned vehicles. Accurate vehicle base mileage should be established during route inspection and mileage should be monitored daily.

The U.S. Postal Service information technology infrastructure consists of facilities, equipment, services, protocols, and applications used to transmit, store, and process information. These assets are vital to business performance and must be protected.

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